Prism Comics

San Diego Comic Con is without a doubt the biggest event on the industry's calendar, and people will be flying from around the world to attend panels, watch trailers, meet creators, and make friends. This year's event is bigger than ever, with so much going on every single day that it can be difficult to sift through all that information and decide how to spend your time. With the event only days away, we've looked through the schedules and hand-selected some of the best events happening on Thursday and Friday for fans of comics, collectibles, TV and film, so you can be sure you don't miss that must-see panel or signing.

This weekend at WonderCon saw the Prism Comics Queer Press Grant awarded at a panel celebrating ten years of the grant, which assists creators who want to self-publish comics with LGBTQ themes. This year the grant was awarded jointly to Catherine Esguerra for Eighty Days and Elizabeth Beier for I Like Your Headband.

Prism Comics, a non-profit group devoted to the promotion of LGBTQ-friendly comics and creators, is now accepting applications for the 2016 Prism Comics Queer Press Grant. Prism gives its annual grant to creators who are self-publishing comics with queer themes and characters, and submissions are judged primarily on their merit, though the financial circumstances of the creators are also considered. In addition to money, the grant recipient will receive promotional assistance from Prism. Last year's winner was Dave Davenport, for his graphic novel Stray Bullet, which deals with HIV. Other past winners include Ed Luce, Tana Ford, and Blue Delliquanti.

Prism Comics has released a 25-page free preview of its upcoming Alphabet anthology, which is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter. Alphabet commemorates 10 years of the Prism Comics Queer Press Grant, and features full-color comics from nearly 50 creators, some of whom have received the grant in the past. It's going to be an impressive collection of LGBTQ-oriented comics from a wide variety of talents. The Alphabet Kickstarter ends on Thursday Dec. 24, at 12:50 PM EST. As of this writing, funding is more than two-thirds of the way towards an $18,000 goal, so its chances look pretty good, but there's only a week left, and queer art can always use whatever help it can get.

With hundreds of panels to choose from at San Diego Comic-Con, the show can be an overwhelming experience — and it’s far too easy to miss a panel you think you might have loved, or to find yourself on the wrong side of the con floor five minutes before a great panel is about to start! Take heart, brave reader. ComicsAlliance has sifted through the schedule to offer up our pick of the best programming at the con. Today we offer our suggested highlights for day three, Saturday July 26, 2014 — with an emphasis on comics programming. We’ll also let you know where and when you can find ComicsAlliance contributors at the San Diego show.